Nuggets for Nuggets | RSI Aurora

Hello Citizens and Civilians, and welcome to our new blog version of Nuggets for Nuggets! As well as giving you new, exciting, bite-sized tidbits of information during the show, we thought we’d post them all here for your viewing pleasure!

RSI Aurora

Every pilot has to start somewhere, and the Aurora ES is an entry-level, no-nonsense place to start; everything you need with no excess. Much like the Ford Focus, these ships are sturdy, reliable, and very good for their price.

The Aurora comes in a whopping 5 flavours: The Essential, the Marque, the Clipper, the Legionnaire and the LX. The Essential is the base model for the range — the template that all the rest build upon, so that’s where we’re going to start breaking her down.

At 18.5m long and 4.1m high weighing in at 15000Kg, the only ship that’s lighter than an Aurora is the M50; so provided you don’t stuff your cargo bay full to the hilt (that would be a max of 5 tonnes), she’ll be very nimble and maneuverable — like a leaf on the wind!

The Aurora only has room for a single pilot, but then for the cost you’re lucky you have ample leg-room in the cockpit let alone enough room for an entire other human being — after all, where else are they going to house the main engine?

Capable of housing 1x TR3 engine, the Essential model comes with Dragon STC Blue fission engine, 6x TR1 Maneuvering thrusters and can equip a shield up to a max rating of 3; and just because she’s inexpensive doesn’t mean she’s cheap, no no no, in fact the little lady comes capable of equipping 2x Class 1 weapons and, 1x Class 3 (which is 2x fixed point guns, 1x pylon box for carrying missiles, probes, respectively), making her capable of giving hefty slap upside the head should you cross her the wrong way.

Well that’s the Essential covered, so let’s talk about her beautiful sisters. First up, the Marque. Building on the base but coming with pre-installed Behring M3A Laser Cannons up front and a slightly upgraded main engine, the Marque is perfect for interdicting.

The Clipper comes with double the cargo capacity and a Tarsus AT Jump Scanner, but at the expense of upgrade slots. She’s also heavier, weighing in at 17’000Kg however she is perfect for the mercenary or small cargo runner that wants to get from A to B without all the bells and whistles.

The Legionnaire is the heaviest in the line-up at 18’500Kg but comes with a massive upgrade to the shields, 2 x Klaus and Werner Bulldog Repeater guns up front and a Talon IR4 Stalker Missile on the wings, she can take some hits and keep on trucking making the Legionnaire ideal for militia or patrol missions.

And lastly, the LX: the Ford Focus with all the optional extras. Designed as an exploration and light mercantile vessel, she comes equipped with 2x Behring M3A Laser Cannons and the same Talon IR4 Stalker Missile rack and Gorgon Defender AllStop shield as seen on the Legionnaire. Although her teeth aren’t as sharp, she’s lighter than her feisty sister at 16’500Kg. She also comes with a lick of paint that just makes her look that little bit cooler.

So, what’s in a name? Well a ‘nugget’, as well as being a small, bite-sized piece of information is also the name for a trainee pilot. Nuggets for Nuggets is a weekly section of the show where we delve into the mechanics of Star Citizen and give you the gory details from the inside out. As the game is still in active development, all the information given is subject to change but we will revisit sections in the future to bring you up to speed.